Title: Vita Viva (2025)

Description of work: A playful ode to our shared humanity — the quirks, the joy, and the connections that keep us dancing through life’s obstacles.

Choreographer bio: Michaella Barron, a Detroit native, began her artistic journey at Interlochen Arts Academy before graduating summa cum laude from the Ailey/Fordham BFA program in NYC, with a double major in International Political Economy and an Italian Language concentration. Founder of Forza Dance, she fosters artistic expression and community collaboration. Michaella's choreographic repertoire spans staged works, music videos, and dance films like “Maria” and “Outside In,” featured at distinguished festivals including Booking Dance and DUMBO Dance. Her works have graced numerous NYC venues such as Teatro Latea, Triskelion Arts, Arts on Site and The Tada Theater. Forza Dance's acclaim extends nationally, with recent performances at the Luminaria Arts Festival in San Antonio. Michaella annually produces Forza’s evening-length show, “Shindig,” showcasing diverse new works to sold-out audiences. She is dedicated to sharing her art to cultivate empathy and inspire societal connection.

Performed by Forza Dance company artists: Michaella Barron, Gabrielle DiNizo, Maddy Hall, Araya Morris, Micah McKee

Music: “Ma Quale Idea” by Pino D’Angiò

Title: The Couple From Floor 13

Description of work: Following a romantic candle-lit anniversary dinner, the couple returns to their haunted hotel room, where a vengeful bellhop brings their darkest fears to life. Passion quickly ignites into a burning rage, and the night unravels into a battle neither one of them can escape.

The Couple from Floor 13 is an excerpt from a mysterious dance-theater production called Floor 13, which will premiere in NYC this upcoming October. Follow @secretsonfloor13 to watch the mystery unravel.

Choreographer bio: Holly Borrelli is a professional choreographer and dancer based in Atlanta, GA. She graduated from Florida State University with a dual degree in dance and finance and professionally danced with The Tallahassee Ballet for two seasons. In 2025, she was awarded the Anthony Morgan Undergraduate Choreographic Award in Dance. Recently, Borrelli was the choreographer for the National Performing Arts Funding Exchange's Proof-of-Concept film for their docuseries project Arc and Sound of Dance.

Choreographer: Holly Borrelli

Dancers: Gemma Leary, Emanuele Fiore, Makenna Zelenak

Composer: Jacob Grice

Title: Cuando Estoy Contigo

Description of work: This work explores the idea of being multiple versions of ourselves and experiencing the difficult but beautiful journey of finding our authentic self in every version. 

Choreographer bio: Natalie Aronno is a freelance dancer and choreographer based in New York. She is inspired by her family, art that moves her, and the lovely dancers that are a part of her creation process. Aronno is excited to have you be a part of this performance night!

Choreographer: Natalie Aronno

Dancers: Isabel Moreno, Kiley Price, Isabella Keh, Stine Walde, Natalie Aronno

Music: Celia Cruz, Pedro Infante 

Costumes: Sonia Luna

Title: My Condolences

Description of work: Debuted originally at Santa Fe College as my final project (2024), My Condolences is a visual representation of the human experience of intimacy. The concept was first born as my own introspective experience with loss, but the piece evolved into an exploration of the complexity of human connection in all forms; grief, unhealthy romantic dynamics, and true, deep love.

Choreographer bio: Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Cheyenne Casner is a 23-year-old dancer, singer, and choreographer. While attending Santa Fe College on a full dance scholarship, she trained in both commercial and concert styles under Melissa Brenner and Jessie Dominguez of the National Ballet of Cuba. She performed at the American College Dance Association and with Malpaso Dance Company, On the Fly, Límon Dance Company as a soloist, and Frederick Earl Mosley, who later invited her to train with him through EMIA in NYC and perform at the 2023 Bessie Awards at Lincoln Center.

Her collegiate career was also where her choreographic voice emerged, creating several works for Santa Fe’s main stage, including My Condolences. She fully relocated to NYC in 2024 upon acceptance to Peridance’s Independent Study Program, where she received a certificate of honors. She is now in her third tour season with DanceOne, works under Isis Chinnery as a private choreographer, and teaches and assists technique classes at Peridance.

Choreographer: Cheyenne Casner

Dancers: Cheyenne Casner, Kareem Wildman, Lex Levandowski, Jordan Pope, Leela Walbolt

Music: Custom mix including: "Day One" by Hans Zimmer, Lamentoso- "Needy Love Sponges" by Nicholas Britell

Title: Coworkers

Description of work: Coworkers is a dance piece that explores the dynamics of human relationships inside a shared workspace. Everyday gestures, moments of tension, collaboration, and unexpected humor are transformed into movement, revealing the fragile balance between individuality and teamwork. Through partnering and physical storytelling, the piece captures the chaos, irony, and emotional undercurrents that shape life among colleagues.

Choreographer bio: Claudio Caverni, originally from Siena, Italy, began his dance training in a small studio in Tuscany before graduating in 2021 from Ateneo della Danza. That same year, he moved to New York to continue his studies at The Ailey School, completing the Certificate Program. As a student, Claudio performed with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Bird Lives, Festa Barocca, and Chasing the Spirit by Hope Boykin. He also appeared in Memoria during AAADT’s 2023 New York City season and at BAM in 2024. Claudio has worked with choreographers including Amy Hall Garner, Ronald K. Brown, Norbert De LaCruz III, FLOCK, Juliano Nunes, Christopher Huggins, and Renee Robinson. He is a freelance dancer based in New York, performing with inDANCE and as a 2026 guest artist with Marigny Opera Ballet (New Orleans). His choreographic work Exousia premiered in 2025 and was selected for multiple festivals and residencies. He also created Coworkers for Hearts of Men 2026, Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance.

Dancers:

Music: before - LVDF

Title:‍ ‍REBIRTH

A special collaboration performance highlighting Forza Dance and Dance of Persia’s shared passion for unity and hope for peace.

Forza Dance: Michaella Barron, Gabrielle DiNizo, Maddy Hall, Araya Morris, Micah Mckee

Dance of Persia: Leila Montazemi

Music: Dariush: Dobareh Misazamat Vatan

Title: Between Skin (Excerpt)

Description of work: Between Skin investigates the tension that emerges through contrast: softness and resistance, containment and expansion. We asked how bodies negotiate force and what is revealed through the ever-changing exchange of energy.

Company Bio: JC Project is an emerging women-led dance collaboration based in New York, created by Jacque Forman and Caroline Clarke in 2025. Their work is rooted in research-based inquiry, utilizing physicality to explore humanistic and scientific frameworks. They investigate how meaning is constructed, shared, and embodied through movement in a symbiotic exchange between bodies and minds. Choreography is approached as an ongoing process of questioning, with an inherent curiosity about how things work. They have shared work at Arts on Site, The Tank, and Skidmore College, and have created for the stage and in site-specific contexts, engaging audiences within and beyond the New York community. While their current repertoire centers on a duet structure, they envision expanding their collaborative practice to welcome additional bodies and perspectives.

Produced by JC Project

Choreographers and Dancers: Jacque Forman and Caroline Clarke

Music: The Black Dog, “Passport Control” and swarm, “Shuttle358”, arranged by Oliver Clarke

Title: To Grow A Garden

Description of work: To Grow A Garden celebrates the communities that shape us as we grow from child to adulthood. The work explores the power of the individual within the group, to share new ideas and listen to others, and the power of the collective of voices to build beyond that of a single human. Deeply influenced by nature, this piece celebrates the power of human connection, and the communities we learn from and share with along our journeys in life. 

Choreographer Bio: Sabina Fritz is a theater and dance artist originally from California. She graduated from UC San Diego with BA degrees in dance and theater, where she received the Bronowski Award for excellence in theater and dance, and loves performing and creating new work in both disciplines that explores humanity, our relationship to nature, and radical joy. She has trained in ballet, Limon, Feldenkrais, Cunningham, Countertechnique, Hip Hop, Improvisation, and Musical Theater. Her work has been presented across the country, and she currently teaches around NYC in after school programs. Sabina holds a certificate for completion for a full year of the Limon Institute training program, and has completed Limon’s teacher training workshop. Recently, she also became Lauren Lovette’s assistant and re-staged her work in Monterrey, Mexico. She values positivity, sensitivity, and collaborative spaces where individuals are empowered to listen and contribute as the work needs.

Choreographer: Sabina Fritz

Dancers: Danielle Goodman, Sabina Fritz, Carly Martin, Ivanna Manríquez, Jasmine Presti

Music: Brooklyn Rider, Colin Jacobsen

Title: Potential Actuality

Description of work: Potential Actuality was created around the idea of observing reality, and feeling present. Each dancer recognizes one other and continues on their path. Allowing oneself to feel present in the moment. 

Choreographer bio: Hailey Cindric is originally from Chesapeake, Virginia. In 2023, she received her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from Adelphi University, where she was given the opportunity to perform works by Mark Morris and Paul Taylor. While receiving her BFA she worked with Doug Varone and Dancers as an Arts Administration Intern and hopes to continue to learn more. She premiered her first work in 2022 at the Young Choreographers Festival. Most recently she made her NYC premiere with her work: It happened to me once at the Re/Venue NYC 2025 festival. Currently she is a dancer and choreographer with Unbound Dance Collective, and is continuing to explore and create new dance.

Choreographer: Hailey Cindric

Dancers: Sarah Baghdadi, Maddie Barry, Katie Jaffie, Casey Leyden, Sarah Marino, Sarah Rehm

Music: Mantis by Dorisburg 

Title: PLAISIR

Description of work: Set in 1920s Paris at the queer nightclub, Le Monocle, PLAISIR explores how each night would evolve from polite pleasantries into unadulterated, pure pleasure.

Choreographer Bio: Gable Couch is a New York City based dancer and choreographer. As an artist, Gable is interested in creating rich, tangible worlds that audiences feel they could step in and experience for themselves. When it comes to aesthetic and theme, Gable wants to push each work to the maximum. Their most recent choreographic work has been featured at The Tank, Spoke the Hub, Green Space, Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, Under St. Marks Theater, and One Day Dance Festival. Gable holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance Performance from the University of Central Oklahoma. 

Choreographer: Gable Couch in collaboration with the dancers

Dancers: Julia Asher, Madi Dyke, Mia Fontaine, Tessa Fungo, Kelsey Grady, Natalie Katz, Alex Ware

Music: by La Femme

Title: Thank You, Thank You, Thank You,- Tribute to Alvin Ailey

Description of work: Thank You, A Tribute to Ailey, is an excerpt from The Jamod Parham Dance Company ballet entitled “To Mr. Ailey Himself” which depicts how he influenced not only the modern dance world but the evolution of dance itself. This was a way for Jamod to give thanks and appreciation to him.

Company Bio: Jamod Parham Dance Company

Founded in 2023 by Montgomery, Alabama native Jamod Parham, the Jamod Parham Dance Company is a New York City–based modern dance company rooted in storytelling, emotional honesty, and raw physicality. Inspired by legends like Horton, Graham, and Taylor—alongside contemporary influences such as Forsythe and Houston Thomas—Jamod developed his own movement style, The Parham Technique, within a year of beginning his dance journey in 2022.

The company quickly gained attention for its emotionally charged choreography, producing five full-length ballets and touring the Southern U.S. in its first year. At its core, the company is built on connection, vulnerability, and the belief that dance is not just movement—but meaning.

Choreographer: Jamod Parham

Dancers: Jamod Parham, Love Barnes, Sanai Minor, Adorah Odiari, Yari Vazquez, Maddison Robison, Jayden Roundtree, Kelsey Lewis, Angel Person, Joshua Pringle, George Chaves, Mari Salis

Music: Charlie Parker original arrangement